A/N: I swear chapters will be longer than this. Just need to get into it a bit more. Thanks for all the follows/favs/reviews. Point out any typos will you folks? Aaand drop in a review if you have the time :)
Not long after Aragorn had left, Alassiel also departed for Mirkwood; leaving Legolas behind to attend a council meeting with Lord Elrond. She travelled alone, aside from her ever loyal mare, Rílas, and arrived home without a scratch on her. The trouble had yet to reach her path.
As she entered the gates, an eager stable lad dashed over to her and took Rílas' reins from her, leaving her no time to even object. Mildly irritated, she carried her belongings into the palace of the wood, and set herself to the task of joining the guard on watch. Much to her luck, it happened to be Tauriel and Elvellon. She relieved Elvellon from his post and sat atop the stone wall that he had just been occupying. Tauriel's eyes were burning a hole in her back.
"What is it, my friend? Why do you stare at me like so?"
The red-haired elf rose a fine eyebrow and dropped down onto the wall beside the princess.
"You have only just returned from Imladris, am I correct? So tell me, Alassiel, why is it that you are here, on watch, while you should be eating a proper warm meal and resting your body?"
Alassiel followed Tauriel's eyes down to the bread, cheese and apple she had beside her, and sighed as she finished off the corner of the bread she had been eating.
"I find myself bored if I do not occupy myself-"
"Do not lie to yourself and I. There is something on your mind that you do not want to dwell on. Speak of it to me and I will do what I can to help. That is what friends are for, are they not?"
Alassiel smiled sadly as she looked down at her lap, but stayed silent, causing a frown to appear of the other she-elf's face.
"Something happened during your visit to Imladris?"
Alassiel's look towards her gave her, her answer.
"Well, what- Oh. Oh, was he there? Did you meet him there again?"
The princess said nothing, confirming her friend's suspicions.
"Oh, my friend. You know you cannot harbour such feelings towards this man? He is mortal; you are not. You must let go now before your heart breaks anymore. "
Alassiel turned her head and glared at Tauriel, before shifting up out of her seat and standing tall above her, her fists clenched.
"My heart will not break as there is nothing to break it. I have been close friends with Aragorn for many years, it does not have to end now. I simply...simply find it difficult to..to imagine life without him. To think of how many years I will have to live on without his companionship. He is a dear friend to me, Tauriel. I do feel love for him, that much is clear. But it is the love I would have towards a brother, as I have towards Legolas. Nothing more. So yes, perhaps his mortality has been troubling me as of late."
Tauriel sat quietly as she listened, tilting her head upwards so she could she Alassiel's face; to see the emotion that now shadowed her features. Accepting that she would get nowhere else with the conversation, she tugged on Alassiel's hand.
"Sit down would you, and eat. I'll not have Bainor on my tail for not feeding you. Perhaps he'd be a fine suitor for you. Your father thinks very highly of him."
Alassiel burst into laughter as she plopped back down on the wall, almost knocking over her apple.
"You must be joking? No, you are hardly serious, are you? Tauriel, are we both speaking of the same Bainor? He is as much of a brother to me as Legolas is. Do not be so absurd."
Tauriel smiled to herself, feeling triumph in getting her friend to laugh.
"Surely it would be better than being married off to an unknown man you have never met before?"
Alassiel paused, as if she was contemplating her answer.
"No, I believe I would prefer the stranger. Do imagine being married to your brother. How hellish would that be? Oh, but I do suppose you could imagine being married to my brother."
Tauriel went redder than her hair.
"H-how..?"
"You are painfully obvious, Tauriel. But fear not, I believe Legolas may have let something slip to me about you."
"What?!" Tauriel exclaimed frantically, her hands planted down on the rock beside her. "You must tell me, Alassiel, you must!"
Alassiel snickered and stuck out her tongue, and then skillfully dodged Tauriel's attempted hit to her shoulder.
"You are a cruel woman. "
Her return to Mirkwood did not last long. It was approaching her third week back when her father requested that she travel to Lothlorien to deliver a message to the lord and lady of the wood. Had it been Legolas who he had asked, he would have been asked why didn't he simply send a messenger, instead of wasting Legolas' time. But Alassiel knew why her father had asked it of her. He knew she grew bored easily, and that she much preferred her time travelling. If anything, she enjoyed her time in the Golden Wood tremendously, as she had many friends there.
This was probably why she was closer to the others in Imladris and Lothlorien than Legolas was. Whenever Thranduil noted a hint of her beginning to break from boredom, he would conjure up some message of importance that absolutely must have been delivered by someone trustworthy, as he knew she would take her time coming home. Alassiel could never express how much she appreciated it all, as there was apparently nothing to appreciate.
This was why she had seen so much of Aragorn, Arwen, Elladan and Elrohir. And then there was Haldir in Lothlorien, and his sister Rovain. She did not find herself close to Arwen, as their personalities clashed and they hardly shared any interests, but she most certainly did not dislike her. And so she found herself with only two very close female friends. Tauriel, she had grown up with; along with Bainor, and Rovain had been introduced to her by Haldir, who she had met through the guard. Over the years of visiting almost every few months, Alassiel grew to call them her closest friends, which was why she felt the need to thank her father so much. But she didn't.
She didn't ask what the message was, as usual, and as she left through the gates on Rílas' back, she spotted Tauriel up on the wall above her, rolling her eyes. She rolled her eyes right back at her.